It was my turn to stir. I dipped a spoon into the pot of strained tomatoes, beef, and sausage that had been simmering on the stove for two hours. Its deep red mahogany color and savory aroma zapped me back forty years, to my Nana’s kitchen in Newark, New Jersey. I would have gladly lingered there, but the sight of water buffalo grazing on green plains outside my window shook me back to the present.
I was far from where I first tasted this sauce, yet paradoxically at its source—cooking in a farmhouse in southern Italy’s Campania region. This is where the world’s most well known Italian foods, like ragu napoletano (tomato sauce) and pizza were born.
My husband and I had signed up to spend our New Year’s Eve holiday in Paestum with Arthur Schwartz, award-winning cookbook author, teacher, and former host of WOR-New York’s daily “Food Talk” radio show. Four times a year, Schwartz takes groups here on weeklong culinary vacations that include cooking classes, visits to nearby Naples and Salerno, restaurants, wineries, and farms. For me (a grandchild of Italian immigrants), it was an experience that took me to the roots of the kitchens of my past.
The setting, on the green fertile Sele Plain (an hour and a half south of Naples), is tranquil and unspoiled by tourists. Most visitors come to Paestum for a look at its main attraction—the three best preserved Greek temples in Europe—and then move on.
But our trip took us deep into the soul of the town—its farms, food and most importantly, its people. Arthur, who has been visiting the region for over thirty years, learning from its cooks, and making friends with the locals, opened the door for us.
I’d met Arthur through his book, Naples At Table, critically acclaimed as a “bible of regional cooking, history, and lore.” In it were recipes for all my nana’s dishes (which I’d never seen written down) and much more. Reading his passionate coverage of the area was a siren’s call to hop on a plane and get in on the adventure.
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